NOTEBOOK: Injured DT says he's playing

GAINESVILLE - Defensive tackle Ray McDonald guaranteed that the elbow injury he suffered against Arkansas in the SEC championship game will not keep him out of the BCS national title game.

Of course, McDonald boasted that he'd play even if they amputated his right arm that morning.

"Heck, yeah," McDonald said Monday. "I'd use one arm the whole time. I can't miss this game."

McDonald suffered a hyper-extended right elbow when a teammate landed on his arm after a tackle. Television replays were not pretty, and initial reports over the Gator Radio Network game broadcast were that McDonald had suffered a broken arm.

"I didn't know it looked that bad [until he saw the injury on tape]," McDonald said. "But it wasn't as bad as it looked."

McDonald, who has 33 tackles and three sacks, was not wearing a brace on Monday, and he said he should be able to participate fully in practice by the time the Gators arrive in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 2.

"I'm just trying to wait for the swelling to go down right now," he said. "It's not a big deal."

Another chance for a ring

Tight end Cornelius Ingram missed out on a chance to become the first player in school history to win a national championship in football and basketball.

Ingram was a member of the 2004-2005 basketball team, but quit in order to concentrate on football. The Gators promptly went out and won the 2006 national title, and Ingram got some ribbing for his decision - especially when the basketball players got their national title rings.

"It crossed my mind a lot thinking, 'Man, I should've been out there with the basketball team, I would've had a national championship ring,' " Ingram said. "But I'm happy with the decision that I made.

"You can't really ask for more, after being SEC champions. I think whenever you talk about the SEC, and you win the conference, it says a lot about your program because on any Saturday, you can get knocked out by any team in the SEC," he said.

Meyer gets more help

In preparation for the SEC championship game, UF coach Urban Meyer phoned Georgia coach Mark Richt for help with every bit of detail he possibly could get in regards to travel, meals, the Georgia Dome, news conferences, the playing surface, the sidelines ... anything.

He's been on the phone again for help with the BCS national title game. This time he called Texas coach Mack Brown, who won the national title last season.

"I had a long talk with Mack Brown when I was up in New York [for the college football Hall of Fame ceremonies]," Meyer said. "It was not about Xs and Os, but he was very helpful."

Meyer wanted to know how to handle the extra preparation time because of the title game's late date. Keeping the players from burning out is a concern, too.

"The extra week to prepare for a bowl game is new to our coaching staff and that is one thing I asked Mack Brown about," Meyer said. "The neat thing about this year is we have a whole bunch of extra preparation time after Christmas. Our coaching staff will have to adapt our schedules to make sure that our guys are prepared, but not burned out."